Today’s (Wednesday 13 November) fall in the jobless figures masks a world of part time employment and falling incomes, warned Unite.

While welcoming the 48,000 drop in the headline figures, the country’s largest union said there was little reason for David Cameron and George Osborne to congratulate themselves that the economy was recovering as the cost of living crisis strangled households across the UK.

Unite today published the results of an independent survey of its members showing a drop in disposable income of £129 a month since May this year, with two thirds (66 per cent) reporting a drop in their disposable income over the last six months.

Unite general secretary Len McCluskey said: “The welcome fall in the jobless figures masks an economic landscape which is dominated by part-time employment and low wages where a third of men working part-time want a full time job.

“Earnings are lagging far behind the rate of inflation as Cameron and Osborne’s cost of living crisis tightens its grip, leaving thousands of families living a hand-to-mouth existence and relying on payday lenders to get by each month.

“Cameron and Osborne have nothing to be smug about when they speak of economic recovery - quite simply, for millions of working people this ‘recovery’ is passing them by. Theirs is recovery by the few for the few as more and more people turn to food banks and struggle to make ends meet.

“We need an economy that delivers growth for all, action on energy prices and a boost to the money in people’s pockets with an increase of the minimum wage by £1.50 an hour.”